Declan Devine hails 10-man Glentoran derby win: 'A really good Linfield team threw everything at us'
Glentoran boss Declan Devine highlighted the “great character” behind Friday’s 1-0 derby delight over Linfield with 10 men.
Glens captain Marcus Kane grabbed the game’s only goal before the break in ‘Big Two’ success on home soil but Devine’s side had to protect the slender advantage with 10 men following James Douglas’ dismissal for a second bookable offence.
"It's massively pleasing,” said Devine on BBC Sport NI. “We showed great character and a great willingness to dig in.
"A really good Linfield team threw everything at us so to keep that clean sheet was massive."
It marked a second derby win over Linfield inside a number of weeks and arrived in the aftermath of a league loss to Portadown.
"I said before the game that we needed to give the fans something to shout about on the back of the disappointing result last week,” said Devine. "When the players are giving everything the fans will get behind us and when the fans get behind us in difficult moments it's a very difficult place to play.
"I think it was a massive effort from the club, not just the team, to get across the line with 10 men and that was the most pleasing thing about it."